Latest articles from Russia

Incentives – in the form of tax breaks, training and other business services assistance – are a large part of what attracts companies to SEZ Alabuga. While such benefits look hugely attractive to prospective investors, Michal Kaczmarski reports on the impact they have for those that take up residence in the zone.

According to the latest Index of Economic Freedom, compiled by US-based conservative think tank Heritage Foundation and newspaper The Wall Street Journal, a number of countries, particularly those in the Middle East, saw economic freedoms decline compared with last year.

Far from the Kremlin's corridors of power, Russia's second-tier cities are striving to transform themselves. fDi looks at how the Russian cities of Tomsk, Rostov-on-Don and Tula are trying to attract investors amid geopolitical uncertainty in the region.

After a hugely successful 2013, expectations are high for the real estate sector in the Russian cities of Moscow and St Petersburg. However, unlike previous booms in the country, this particular building frenzy is largely being driven by foreign companies drawn in by Russia's rapidly growing middle class.

Mipim, an international real estate show hosted every year in Cannes, France, brings together thousands of developers and architects, as well as city and country officials eager to court potential investors. At this year's event, Michal Kaczmarski asked representatives from Brabant, Eindhoven, Frankfurt, Liverpool, Montenegro and the Chechen Republic what sets their locations apart from other destinations.

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